Shut up Ken and help us win at polls, urges Corbyn
LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn has told Ken Livingstone to stop talking about Hitler and Jews. But he appeared to suggest that Mr Livingstone, the Labour former mayor of London, could continue to play a role in the party and campaign for Labour in the runup to local elections on May 4.
Mr Corbyn told regional newspapers: “I would say to Ken Livingstone, please recognise that the remarks you have made have caused enormous hurt to a large number of people.
“And the best thing now would be to stop making any comments about this whole issue and contribute to your party’s work in trying to win local elections and oppose racism in any form.”
Asked to clarify whether he was asking Mr Livingstone to campaign for Labour in local elections, Mr Corbyn replied: “I think Ken is probably... it’s best he keeps quiet for a while.”
He said he was not responsible for the decision of Labour’s National Constitutional Committee to suspend Mr Livingstone – rather then expel him from the party – over allegations of anti-Semitism. But Mr Corbyn pointed out that Labour’s National Executive Committee, of which he is a member, was now set to investigate fresh complaints. He said: “The National Constitutional Committee is separate from the control of the National Executive or of the leader’s office, and I have had no contact whatsoever with them ever since the reference of Ken Livingstone was made to them.” He added: “There are people who are extremely upset by that decision, and references are being made to the National Executive of further comments made by Ken Livingstone since the investigation was started.” But he said he had to respect Labour’s decision-making structures. “We are long past the days when the leader could say this, this, this must happen. It’s democracy. It doesn’t make leadership easy.” The Labour leader repeated the condemnation of antisemitism he has made repeatedly. He said: “Anti-semitism is completely wrong and I’ve made that abundantly clear on every conceivable occasion.” And he said he personally was inspired by the Jewish tradition of left-wing activism. Mr Corbyn said he spoke to people about the Jewish contribution to the Labour movement when he was in Leeds for the funeral of Labour MP Gerald Kaufman.
He added: “My first job in London was working for the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers which grew out of the Jewish tailor’s union.
Mr Livingstone was suspended in April last year after claiming Hitler supported Zionism, the movement to create a Jewish homeland in what became Israel, in the 1930s before he “went mad and ended up killing six million Jews”.
He later insisted he had never said Hitler was a Zionist, only that Hitler had supported Zionism at one time.
A panel ruled that Mr Livingstone should be suspended from holding office and representation within the Labour Party for two years. As he had already been suspended for one year, this meant the suspension has another year to run.
The decision was made by the party’s 11-person national constitutional committee.
But a number of senior Labour figures have criticised the decision.
Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader and MP for West Bromwich East, issued a statement saying: “I find it incomprehensible that our elected lay members on the disciplinary panel found Ken Livingstone guilty of such serious charges, and then concluded that he can remain a member of the Labour party.”
And he said: “My party is not living up to its commitment to have a zero-tolerance approach to anti-semitism.”
Mr Livingstone defended his behaviour as he spoke to journalists after the disciplinary hearing earlier this week.
He said he would now consult with lawyers about his legal position.